Refrigerating jacket



March 3, 1953 s. LEE

REFRIGERATING JACKET Filed March 18, 1950 INVENTOR.

Samuel Lee f/M'e ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATING JACKET Samuel Lee, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application March 18, 1950, Serial No. 150,515

2 Claims. 1

My invention is an improvement in refrigerating jacket for vessels containing beverages and. coupled to tap lines through which the contents are withdrawn and served.

An important object of this invention is to provide a cooling or refrigerating apparatus having such construction that it can be employed to control the temperature of a keg or barrel of ale or beer, for example, in close proximity to the point where the beverage is delivered to the consumer. In its preferred form the apparatus is a unit and comprises a jacket having means to receive and carry a refrigerating agent and adapted to envelop the keg or barrel from which the beverage is to be taken.

Another object is to provide a refrigerating unit that is easy to handle and will keep a barrel or keg sufficiently cool till it has been emptied. The need for a cooling chamber and long delivery lines to the bar or counter is thus eliminated.

()ther objects and advantages of the invention are fully described herein and the drawings illustrate the design thereof. But the disclosure is by way of example only and changes in details can be made without deviation from the general characteristics defined in the claims.

On said drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view, partly in section, of the refrigerating apparatus of my invention; and

Figure 2 is a side view of the complete unit.

The apparatus comprises a curved jacket of a size to cover a large part of the exterior lateral surface of a barrel or keg from the top down nearly to the lower end. The jacket consists of a refrigerator section I and a gate 2 joined to the jacket at one side. The section I is made of a plate 3 that is first fiat and rectangular in outline, and then bent to conform to the shape of the keg or barrel for which it is to be used. The outer or rear face of the plate 3 carries a refrigerator coil 4 with zig-zag tubular sections 5, all connected at their extremities and secured to the plate by welding or otherwise. The memher 4 is covered with an outer lining of heat-insulating material 6; permanently attached to the plate along its edges by glue or in any other suitable manner. The gate 2 is mounted on hinges I so that it can be swung to open or close it. When opened a keg or barrel can be set in against the plate 3, or removed; and when the gate is shut, the barrel or keg can be completely enveloped. Below the jacket and gate is a drip pan 8 to catch moisture; and to the pan and lower part of the jacket legs 9 are aflixed to sup- 2 port the jacket above the pan at the required height.

The passages through the coil 4 are kept full of a refrigerant supplied through an inlet pipe ill and discharged through an outlet pipe not shown. If the nature of the refrigerant so requires, the pipe lll may have an expansion valve H.

The gate consists of a body of heat-insulating material 13. The hinges 1 are at one side. At the other it carries a pivoted catch or hook M to engage a stud or pin 15 on the jacket to keep it in closed position.

' A unit of this type, comprising a refrigerating section and gate, can be utilized to cool separate kegs mounted directly behind or under a bar or counter where the beverage is served. The keg can be tapped and connected by means of a delivery conduit !6 to a delivery faucet ll. Then, with the keg coupled as by a line [8 to a source of air under pressure, the beverage, such as beer or ale, can then be withdrawn. The keg within the jacket can, for example, stand on the floor back of the bar. A large refrigerating chamber elsewhere in the establishment for the storage of the kegs and maintenance of the proper temperature, and the long lines of delivery piping are not needed. The bar can carry at the upper part, if desired, the usual cooling coils in the line of the conduit l6, enclosed in a cooler equipped with a refrigerating coil of its own, if desired.

If the keg 2| or other container is cylindrical, the jacket and gate will be cylindrical; and if the keg bulges between its ends the jacket and gate can be given a similar shape, as indicated in the drawings.

The jacket is adapted to carry a plate I 9 at the top beneath the faucet H, to support a glass under the faucet. This plate can be attached to the upper edge of the plate I or the gate 2, or rest loosely thereon. The plate will have a pipe 2!) for drainage down into the pan 8. The pan has a drain outlet 22.

Having described my invention, what I believe to be new is:

1. A refrigerating jacket comprising a plate with separated ends and curved between its ends and conforming to the exterior of a round container, a cooling member secured to the outer face of the plate, a sheet of heat insulating material covering said member, said plate being wide enough to extend partly around the container, and a gate for closing the space between said ends, said member comprising sections covering substantially the whole of said face, a pan beneath the plate, and legs connecting the plate to the pan, the plate and gate when fully closed completely encircling said container.

2. A refrigerating jacket comprising a plate curved between its ends and conforming to the exterior of a round container, a cooling member secured to the outer face of the plate, a sheet of heat insulating material covering said member, and a gate for closing the space between said ends, said member comprising sections covering substantially the whole of said face, a pan beneath the plate, and legs connecting the plate to the pan, and a plate secured at the top of said gate and projecting inward, said last-named plate having a pipe under it to drain into said pan.

SAMUEL LEE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name- Date 1,95'7,199 Clififord May 1, 1934 2,218,602 Carryl Oct. 22, 1940 2,233,272 Tamminga Feb. 25, 1941 

